To call the men’s soccer team’s performance last season a success would be a gross understatement.

The Huskies experienced their most successful campaign in the program’s 19-year history, marked by a number of firsts, highlighted by an America East Conference Championship, NCAA College Cup bid, and playoff victory over Lehigh in a dramatic shootout contest.

Needless to say, it has been an atypical summer for this year’s edition, who has been ranked as the 26th team in the nation by the College Soccer News.

“I think that the difference is last year we went into the season with no expectations,” said Northeastern head coach Ed Matz. “There wasn’t a lot of talk about us, and the only talk was about the players that we had lost. A lot of people thought that opponents would be paying back Northeastern for losses in years past.

“[As a result of last year’s success, there has been] a lot of talk around the country about our program. As a coach that’s good, but I’m approaching season with a lot of guarded optimism,” Matz said.

And rightfully so. The team lost only two seniors from last year (Nate Houghton and LeRoy Watkins), and of those two, only the former was a starter. Factor in a strong recruiting class, and the return of several core players, and the team’s outlook appears bright. That mix, according to Matz, will be one of several key factors that will determine the squad’s success this upcoming season.

“It’s the same as any year; we’re only going to be as good as our incoming freshman, and our incoming seniors,” he said. “We have got to rely on each other, and need a lot of good things to happen to make the America East playoffs. We need to work hard to achieve similar results as last year, the year before and the year before that.”

Several talented players highlight the incoming recruits. Matz spoke highly of Norwegian import Dyre Kleive, who figures to play prominently at the outside midfielder spot. Brian Koslosky played for FC Delco, which was the No. 14 club team in the nation. According to Matz, the defender chose NU over some other schools because of the university’s success in years past.

Another newcomer, Colin Igo, played for Matz’s FC Greater Boston Eagles. The club team, which is perennially one of the better squads in the region, was the state runner-up in 2002. A multifaceted player already familiar with the team’s system, he has experience in the midfield and defense spots.

Still, it will be the senior class that will set the tone for everyone else.

Three that bear specific watching are co-captains Oumar Thiam and Joseph Parrish and America East Offensive Player of the Year Athanasios Kirkopoulos.

“Joe Parrish is our most fit player, he’s a great defender, and our most fit athlete going into the season,” Matz said.

“People see the work ethic of he [Parrish] and Oumar Thiam, and how determined they are to make the College Cup, and not to lose to any team in the conference,” Matz said. “They are two of our more vocal guys, and their leadership is something that’ll be a primary focus for us. They really back up their words with their play.”

Kirkopoulos, who accounted for 25 percent of the team’s offense last year, also seems primed for big things.

“[Kirkopoulos] took us on his back for three or four games last year,” he said. “In my opinion, he is the most talented player in the America East. He is even more fit and determined than he was last season going into this time.”

With the graduation of Houghton, the Huskies lost a potent scoring threat as well as a fiery leader and great all-around player. Others will have to step up in his absence.

“Mike Cipriano had a good year at striker,” Matz said. “He scored six goals last year; look for him to add to that.”

The coach hopes that Thiam will provide more offense, and players such as Andrew Hickey, Tom Heimreid, and Kleive will fill the void left by Houghton’s absence.

That’s not the only adjustment Matz expects his team to make.

“What we’ve done this year is we’ve set a very high standard for our summer workout program,” the coach said. “There are a lot of different measurements coming into the preseason. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you don’t pass the fitness test, you won’t be playing in scrimmages.

“It’s been an awakening thing to the top guys. They are training tremendously hard right now, which was the goal anyway. It’s difficult to replace Nate Houghton’s attitude and work ethic on the field; it’s very hard to do.”

One place where Matz should have few concerns is in net, where freshman sensation Sergio Saccoccio returns for his second season as NU’s goalkeeper.

“There is no reason he can’t achieve the same success he did last year,” Matz said. “He needs to realize that he did achieve a lot, but there are things he can improve upon. His upside is huge. He gave us a chance to win every single game, but I think he realizes he has a lot to improve on.”

The schedule features several new faces, most notable the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and a home contest against West Virginia. Nevertheless, Matz knows the key to the season will be handling business in the team’s own backyard.

“BU is going to be very strong,” he said. “They didn’t lose a great deal in their senior class and had one of the best recruiting classes in the country. They were a tremendously talented team last year; they just lacked scoring, and they addressed that with their new players.

“Our focus is to do as well as we did in the conference in last year, and get off to a better start. A very positive thing is that everyone knows our system, in that we play without an attacking midfield. There will be no implementation or adjusting, just tweaking or fine tuning it.”

So how will the team duplicate last season’s success?

“I look at this team on paper, and I’m very anxious to see how we come together with the new guys,” he said. “We need to come every single game, and show up to play. The fact that we don’t have more scholarships than any team on our schedule is just a way of life for NU soccer. If we let down for any second, we’ll lose that game; we have to instill in the new players, and even the older players, like last year’s freshman.”

As always, Matz puts the team’s season outlook in perspective.

“I’m worried,” he said. “We’ve generated interest, which is great, and we had a great year last year. We are certainly trying to achieve that, but for us to that again, a lot of things have to happen. We’re working on it; you just have to give us time to see where we are at the end of the year.”